Chancellor Kurz visited the Kleinwalsertal – Coronavirus –

Mittelberg The Kleinwalsertal with around 5,000 inhabitants belongs to Vorarlberg, but can only be reached by road through Germany. Because the borders are still closed, the Federal Chancellor had to obtain a transit permit from the Bavarian Interior Ministry in order to arrive. As a German tourism-oriented customs exclusion area, prior to the introduction of the euro, D-Mark used to pay at Kleinwalsertal, border closures at Kleinwalsertal have had a particularly drastic impact in recent weeks. “There was a special situation at Kleinwalsertal from the beginning. It was a quarantine for geographical reasons,” said Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP). It was a signal to “be here together and say, ‘We want to open borders!'”

No solution was found until the end of April, whereby the Kleinwalsertalers were allowed to drive at least to southern Germany and the rest of Vorarlberg without having to quarantine at their home for 14 days. “We hear calls for help from the Kleinwalsertal,” Wallner emphasized. For Kurz, the situation of the valley community was an example of the difficult situations caused by the crown crisis.

“I am pleased that we have good news in our luggage,” said the federal chancellor, for whom it was his first visit to Kleinwalsertal. Bruno Kreisky was the last federal chancellor to be invited to Kleinwalsertal in 1973. “I am pleased that we were able to provide some relief. The very good news: the borders with Germany and Switzerland will drop entirely by June 15,” Kurz said. To do this, countries would also have to do their homework and keep infection rates low, Kurz said last, but not least, to journalists and photographers who, in the heat of the day, had no margin of safety.

Kleinwalsertal Mayor Andi Haid appreciated the “special honor and joy” of being able to receive Kurz. “We had a difficult time and we were quarantined for seven weeks,” said the community chief. The new situation gives hope. Now there is another perspective for tourism, the only pillar of the Kleinwalsertal. “Without German guests, we suffered a total economic loss,” said the APA mayor. He hoped that negotiations with Germany on quarantine regulations would bring more relief before the border was opened.

After being greeted at Walserschanz, the German-Austrian border, the politicians headed to Hirschegg, where a working session with community representatives and tourists was on the program. Kurz had a meeting with Vorarlberg businessmen on Thursday.